NYC DOT Paves a Green Path With Eco-Friendly Asphalt Made by Local Company

We’re big fans of artfully filling potholes, but yarn doesn’t exactly hold up under heavy traffic. But thanks to GreenPatch, street repairs can be both sturdy and sustainable. The new eco-friendly asphalt product, developed by a Queens company, contains no VOCs, and uses organic, renewable and plant-based solvents. GreenPatch’s growing list of users includes the New York City’s Department of Transportation, Con Edison, and a variety of residential and commercial contractors and building owners. So far, GreenPatch has been approved in 15 states, and by the European as well.

GreenPatch, developed by the Queens Cofire Industries, “is the industry’s first cold mix asphalt that does not use diesel fuel and other petroleum derivatives.” After two years of laboratory and field testing, GreenPatch gained increasing popularity due to its eco-friendly formula. GreenPatch contains absolutely no diesel or cancer-causing petroleum solvents, which are usually found in conventional asphalt. GreenPatch, also consists of 60 percent recycled material, and it is 100 percent recyclable.

“Commercial and residential contractors, building management companies and building owners are abandoning conventional cold patch asphalt and replacing it with GreenPatch when making repairs to the blacktop pavement around their properties,” said Glenn Shapiro, the VP of marketing, in a report by Real Estate Weekly.

GreenPatch’s organic and sustainable solvents make it much more safer for the environment, humans, and animals as well. Using GreenPatch, rather then conventional cold patch asphalt, eliminates harmful chemicals that evaporate into the air. These chemicals can also run off into the ground, and can even contaminate water.

Being that asphalt is essential for infrastructure, having a green alternative for a commonly used material is another huge step for environmental sustainability and green construction.